Sunday, December 29, 2013

It was 33 degrees and cloudy today at 8:15. Mary Lou had arrived just before me, so we ended up walking around together. I was hoping to see the field sparrow and hermit thrush that Haynes saw on Friday.

It was one of the quietest days I can remember. The lower gardens were dead quiet. Eventually, we heard some goldfinches flying overhead and managed to see two groups of crows flying, some blue jays, and a mockingbird. Finally saw a robin, a couple of mourning doves, a seagull flying and a chickadee. At the end of our walk, we went around the lower gardens again and saw several robins and about eight house finches, but that was about it. Mary Lou managed to see a lone song sparrow, but I missed it.

The upper gardens were even more sparse. All we saw was a lone cardinal although I suspect his mate was nearby.

The soccer field yielded one robin and Woodcock meadow seemed devoid of any life. We walked the path through the woods near the JCC. As we rounded the bend, there was a small flurry of activity yielding some chickadees, titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, a red-bellied woodpecker and a cute little brown creeper.

Where were all the juncos, song sparrows, white-throated sparrows and tree sparrows? We wondered if they were hunkered down waiting for the impending rain storm...

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Not having time to participate in the CBC this year, I decided to make a quick pass through Nahanton Park, which lies outside the Greater Boston circle. Very soon after I arrived, a juvenile Northern Harrier coursed across the Wildflower Meadow, then up over the tree margin at the river and out of sight. I have seen this species here once before, a long time ago, but very high. This bird was IN the park, not just over it.

In other news, the Towhees seem to have moved on. I think I heard a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker near the circle at the soccer field, but I couldn't find the bird.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

This morning I spent some time around the nature center end of Nahanton Park today: the dock, the driveway, and Woodcock Field. Most of the activity seemed to be centered there: a male Belted Kingfisher perched quietly on a branch under the bridge; a large flock of Cedar Waxwings was overhead; and in the thickets at the road end of Woodcock Meadow there were a pair of Hermit Thrushes and an Eastern Towhee. A white pine in Woodcock Field hosted a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets, and, briefly, a beautiful female Purple Finch. Here's a complete list of what I saw. Suzette and Ian encountered a couple more Towhees in the gardens and some strange footprints on the dock!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I
stopped by the park this morning thinking of trying to find the Dark-eyed Junco that
could be from the Pink-sided
subtypes. While the rain was holding off, the sky was gray and heavy. When
I arrived at the lower gardens, Dark Eyed Juncos (Slate-colored), Robins, House
Finches, and aCedar Waxwingwere all quickly found. I kept
looking at the Junco’s hoping to find one with a contrasting gray hood, dark
lores, and pinkish sides, but so far everyone seemed like the usual
Slate-colored, though a few females were overall browner. I was excited to find
thisAmerican
Tree Sparrow, I completely missed them last winter. The low light made taking
pictures much more challenging. I also found a pair ofEastern Towheesthat have been hanging on despite the
advancing seasons.

Dark-eyed Junco

The
Juncos seemed to all be keeping in the brush and only cam out occasionally,
they weren’t hanging out in the open to allow easy inspections. I did manage to
find a bird that could be a Pink-sided, but I’m not sure that this is the bird
that Haynes and Ryan referred to. In one picture it looks more like a
possible Pink-sided and others it just looks more like a brown female of the
Slate-colored type, at least I think it is the same bird (see pictures and
click to enlarge). Though crosses between all the types make identification
really challenging and probably one of the reasons they are all just considered
a single species.

Dark-eyed Junco

I
then went through the upper gardens and down the path to the river and mostly
saw the usual residents. Up in the meadow I picked up another flock of Juncos
and then a rusty red sparrow popped out of the Juncos, it was aFox Sparrow! I had
thought they might have moved on by now. While I only have a brief view, it was
refreshing to finally find a Fox Sparrow in MA.

I was
then hoping to go back to the Juncos in the lower garden, but ran out of time.
While the birds seemed to be pretty skittish today and the views were brief, it
was still a great morning at the park. (Full listhere)

Monday, December 2, 2013

Very still this morning. The Towhees are still present (at least two of them; as many as 5 have been reported recently). I am also pretty sure I heard a Baltimore Oriole song, three bursts, at the base of the path cutting through the woods to the drive way from the upper garden. But I couldn't locate the bird. Mainly, the woods near the lower garden were full of Cedar Waxwings.

Ryan Merrill reported a possible pink-sided junko, a female, among the slate-colored ones. Here's a very poor photo of a candidate for this bird. Note the black lores and gray (not brown) hood, contrasting with the brown back. The bird stood out in the crowd.

Nahanton Park

Nahanton Park is a very special wildlife area. In a relatively small space, there are several different habitats - the river, a pond, woods, meadow and gardens. These all contribute to the unusual and diverse wildlife one is able to experience on a daily basis at the park.

Please join me in posting your sightings, photos, news or thoughts. Let me know in the comments section and though new to me, we'll figure out how to set you up.